Apparatus for scoring football games or the like



J. M. HARi'LEY APPARATUS FOR SCORING FOOTBALL GAMES OR THE LIKE FiledOct. 12, 1927 April 9, 1929.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH M. HARTLEY, OF

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR SCORING FOOTBALL GAMES OR, THE LIKE.

Application filed Gctober 12, 1927. Serial No. 225,636.

to be made when the progress of the game is being reported by radio ortelephone to the operator of the device.

Various devices have hitherto been suggested for this purpose but so faras I am aware they are all open to the objection that as the objectrepresenting the ball'is moved 1 from one posit-ion to another on theback- CAD ground representing the field of play 'no record is left ofits previous position; consequently while at any given instant theposition of the ball on the field is visibly indicated to the observersthere is nothing to show the course which the ball has taken during thepreceding period of play. Additionally, it frequently happens that theobservers are interested in noting the performance of the differentplayers on theteam and to this end it is desirable that a visibleindication be given of theground gained by each player as he carries,kicks or otherwise moves theball during the game as well as of thevarious types of plays employed in such manner that a permanent recordthereof may be maintained for as long as may be desired, which willordinarily be from the start to the finish of the game. Such a recordcontributes materially to the'enjoyment and interest of the ob serversand enables them to follow the game much better as is indicated on thedevice than is the case where, as'in the devices hitherto employed andto which I have referred, no such relatively permanent and detailedvrecord is made but the ball or other indicating object merely movedabout irom place to place on the field, and, in some instances, the nameof the player and character of play momentarily displayed when or justafter a given play takes place and then changed uponor following theensuing play.

The principal object of my invention herefore is to provide a device bymeans of which the progress of a game of football or the like may bevisibly indicated as the game progresses in such way that a completerecord of the consecutive movements of the ball from the beginning ofthe game until the end thereof will be afforded together with anindication of the character or type of plays by which the ball is movedabout and of the players responsible therefor, so that the observer atany given moment during the game will have before him a substantiallycomplete graphic record of the game up to that time and can thus readilynote therefrom numerous facts relating to the game such, for example, asthe I types of play by which the most ground has been gained or lost,the players responsible for the maximum gains or losses and othermatters of similar nature which contribute to the intelligentunderstanding of the progress of the game and consequently enhance theinterest of the persons who are observing the indicating device.

Further objects of the invention are to provide an indicating device ofthe character of that to which reference has just been made which issimple, relatively inexpensive and readily operable for its intendedpurpose; which may be constructed in various sizes so as to adapt it foruse under different conditions, as for example, for outdoor use in whichcase the device is made of such size that the record of the variousplays thereon may be readily observed from a considerable distance, orin smaller sizes suitable for use in an auditorium or club or in evenstill smaller sizes for home use.

Other objects and novel features comprehended by the invention arehereinafter more particularly referred to or Wlll be apparent from thefollowing description of certain forms thereof as illustrated 1n theaccompanying drawing.

In the said drawing Fig. 1 is a top plan iew of one form of theinvention in which for convenience the board on which the field of playis indicated is represented as divided longitudinally into upper andlower sections on which, respectively, are represented two methods ofindicating the progress of the same game as hereinafter more fullyexplained; Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail plan view showing aport-ion of the face of the board and certain of the indicatmeansdisposed thereon, while Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 2. Figs.4

and 5 are respectively fragmentary plan views showing different forms ofindicating tapes Which may be utilized in recording the progress ofthe-game. i

In accordance with the present invention '1 provide a :board of suitablesize on one face of which is drawn a representation of a football field.This board 1 may be of any suitable material, the selection of whichwill frequently dependupon the nature ofthe use towhich the device-is tobe put. 7 Thus,

for example, if thedevice is to be permanently installed outdoors near afootball field or stadium with the intention that it shall be observedby the spectators at the game, the board must necessarily be of largesize and will 'tln1s'ordinarily be constructed of suitable lumber.while, on the otherhand,

if it be intended for home use and thus of a I size which may beconveniently laid on a table or even held in the lap or in the hand itmay desirably be constructed of plywood, wall board or other likematerial preferably of such acharacter that it will not readily bend or:warp. The diagram representing the playing field is painted, drawn orotherwise producedon the face of the board and may include thegoal'linesfl, 2 adja- 7 cent the ends of the board, representations 3, 3of the goal posts, and the playing field appear indistinct at thedistance from which they will ordinarily be observed; therefore on arelativelylarge board a suflicient number of yardage hnesmay be drawn sothat the intervals will represent one half a yard f v during thegamesuitable tapes T are re-' 'or one yard but where the overall: dimensions of the board are relatively small it is preferable to use feweryardage lines and cons der the intervals between them as representinglive yards as in the drawing or evenfla greater number. 7

For 1nd1cat1ng the progress of the ball fmovably secured to the boardand for this 'purpose the latter is provided with a plurality ofpermanently positioned pins 5 which pr'ojectoutwardly from its face andare arranged at suitably spaced intervals 1 on. the board, yVlnle thesepins may be of any suitable construction I prefer to employ relativelysharp pointed headed tacks or nails of such length that when driventhrough the board fromrthe back thereof theirpoints will project for arelatively considerable distance above its face, sub: stantially asshown in Fig. 3. v If desired, in order to give a neat fin1sh,a sheet ofany As manypins are suitable covering material 6 may be secured to theback of the board after the pins are placed in position. 1

disposed at equal intervals on each yardage line as convenientlymay bewithout getting the intervals between them too small and thus the numberof pins on each line will ordinarily vary in accordance with the size ofthe board,

large board than on a small one. lso

where enough yardage lines are used so that the intervals between themindicate a yard or a fraction thereof, the pins will ordi-' narily bedisposed on the yardage lines only but where the yardage lines arespaced to indicate five or ten-yard intervals it is desirable, as shownin Fig. 1,'t-o' place a row of pins'5 'midway between each pair ofyardage lines with the pins in longitudinal alignment with the pins 5 inthe latter.

As stated, inscoringthe game use is made primarily of suitable tapeswhich are of different colors so as to represent the opposing teams ordifferently colored on opposite sides for the same purpose thus whena'tape of the latter character is employecha given side thereof whenturned outwardly toward the observer will represent one team, 1

while the other side when so turned will represent the other, therebyavoiding the.

necessity of using two separatetapes of different colors. As thegameprogresses the show which team is carrying the ball and, also, undercertain conditions, in sucha way as to indicate, the particular kind ofplay by which the ball is moved. Furthermore, to indicate points atwhich the ball is brought to rest at the conclusion 'ofeach play, ordowned as it is termed in football, suitable markers may be disposed onthe pins, for example, circular markers 7 which may consist of discs ofpaper, celluloid or other suitable material having a central' holeadapted to'snugly receive the pin when the marker is placed thereon) Toindicate particular types of plays other forms of marl:- ers may beemployed in conformity with a ments, of the ball and in such manner asto lll) predetermined system; thus, for example, a. v

marker 8 having a plurality of points. may be employed to indicate apenalty and another form to indicate an offside kick, still another formto indicate a forward pass and so on as will be readily understood. Forindicating the player by whom the ball displayed thereon may be.utilized; while these players markers may be of any shape I prefer tomake themsubstantially circular save at one point where they may.

vided tending tab which is pierced for the passage of the pin similarlyto the other markers. Thus when the players marker is placed over one ofthe principal markers it is readily distinguishable from the latter;preferably the players markers are, colored to correspond with thetapes'representing the team to which the player belongs.

iVhen employing boards of relatively large size I prefer to utilizepaper tapes suitably c'olored as aforesaid which are conveniently woundin rolls so that after a length of the tape is positioned on the pins itmay be torn off from thebody of the roll and left in position on theboard. Preferably when using tapes of this character dotted, broken orzig-zag lines or marks of other character designed to indicate differenttypes of plays may be printed or otherwise displayed on the tape as inFig. 4 which illustrates a portion of tape having a zig-zag line printedthereon.

For use with boards of smaller sizes, however, I prefert-o employ acontinuous tape of woven fabric or the like difierently colored onopposite sides as previously explained and instead of tearing or cuttingoff a length of the tape to designate each play as in the case of thepaper tape, to carry it from onepin to another as may be required fromtime totime, turning the tape over when necessary so that its exposedface will indicate the team in whose possession the ball may then happento be. Such ainbric tape may be either sufiiciently loosely woven topermit it to be readily thrust down on the pins or else, as shown inFig. 5, prowith suitably spaced eyelets 12 adapted to slip over the pinsand maintain the tape thereon.

As an example of one method of using the device, I will now describe thescoring of a consecutive series of plays from'the beginning of animaginary game of football when using, as illustrated on the upper partof the board as shown in Fig. 1, a continuous fabric tape differentlycolored on opposite sides as the principal indicating medium. Assumingthe red team is defending the right hand goal and the white teamdefending the left hand, and that the former is given'the ball at thebeginning of the game, the red team kicks off from its own 40-yard lineto the 15-yard line of the white As soon as this kick is made theoperator, preferably beginning at the uppermost pin on the red teams-yard line, stretches the tape from that pin to the correspondingpin onthe whit teams 15-yard line and then places a down marker on that pin,of course keeping the side of the tape which denotes the'red teamoutwardly. To show that this movement of the ball has been a kick, thetape may have printed thereon a' dotted line or when using a fabric tapea dotted appearance may be given thereto by placing on the pins alongthe tape at suitable intervals a plurality of small preferablyrectangular markers 13 which are the same or contrasting color as theface of the board 1, thus giving to the tape a broken or dottedappearance, as the markers at a little distance are either substantiallyindistinguishable from the background or in sharp contrast therewith andwith the tape. To indica e that the ball was kicked by player 6, forexample, a players disk with the proper number thereon may be placed onthe pin on the 40-yard line where the ball was put into play, while aplayers disk giving the number of the player who caught the ball, forexample 7, may be placed on the pin to which the tape is attached on the15-yard line. The ball being now in possession of the white team, it isput into play on the 15-yard line and carried to the 20-yard line by ashort run; it is there downed, then carried forward 2 yards and againdowned, and then carried forward 5 yards. To denote these several playsthe tape is reversed at the pin on the 15-yard line, brought down to alower horizontal row of pins and then run in the opposite direction anddown and players markers placed on the pins at the proper points so asto indicate the number of yards the ball was carried in each play andthe number of the player who carried it; to avoid confusion, however, onaccount of the necessarily small scale of Fig. 1 the players markers arenot shown for these and subsequent plays as the manner of using themwill be clear from the foregoing. The next play, a punt by the whiteteam carries the ball to the red teams -yard line, and to indicate thisthe tape may be zig-zagged from the point where it was punted to such45-yard line. At this point the ball, of course, passed into the handsof the red team who immediately p unt in the opposite direction to thewhite teams 15-yard line so that the tape, reversed so as to indicatethe red team, is zig-zagged down in the opposite direction to the properpoint to denote this punt and down and players disks placed on theproper pins as already described. The white team being now again-inpossession of the ball, carry it toward the red goal for a distance of 5yards, indicated by again reversin the tape and stretching it toward thered goal for the proper distance. Following this play, however, thewhite team receives a 10-yard penalty for some infraction of the rulesand the same is indicated by running the tape back for 10 yards andplacing a penalty marker 8 over the tape. On the next play, No. 9 of thewhite team carries the ball by a long run to the 12 -yard line of thered team and in the ensuing plays the ball is carried over their goalline; these several plays are indicated by stretching the tape betweenthe proper points and properly positioning down and players markers onthe pins. The ball is then brought out from behind the goal line to thered teams 10- yard line and from there a goal is kicked .by the whiteteam as indicated by placing the rectangular markers 13 at intervalsover the tape so as to give thedotted .eiiect and thus represents akick. I

While the foregoing is merely illustrative of a series of assumed playsduring an imaginary" game it is believed that the method of carryingthetape from one pin to another on the board and reversing it wherenecessary to indicate a change of possessionof the ball will be readilyapparent as well as the use of different kinds of1narkers .to indicatedifferent types of plays, penalties or other incidents in the game sothat a continuous record of the latter is pro- 'duced on theboard whichis entirely intelligible to an observer familiar with the system ofnotation employed and which, of course, is capable of considerablevariation and elaboration in conformity with the amount ofinformation-which it'is desired to aliord. Substantially the same methodof scoring may be employed when paper or other tapes are used whichmaybe torn oil after they have been stretched to indicate a given playand upon thefaces of which suitable notations may be printed toconveniently indi- "oate the character of the play.

The use of such tapes is indicated on the lower-half of the board shownin Fig. 1,

I the same seriesof plays being there illustrated' as hasflbeenpreviously described. Thus, the ball being kicked off from the red'teams er-O-yard line by that team and downed on the 15-yard line of'thewhite team, a tape of properc'olor'to denote the red team and having adotted line thereon to denote a kick is stretched between the -prop'erpoints; the plays by which the ball was th'en carried by the white teamare denoted by using a plaintape of the proper color and the followingpunt from the white teams 27 -yard' line to the red'teams yard line by atape having a Zig-zagged line displayed thereon and "so' on, it beingthought that the manner of indicating the subsequent plays will beevident without- .furth er description.

It is to beunderstood that when the paper tapes are employed they willordinarilybe torn ofit' at the proper points after they have been placedon the pins and that the markers are'preferably so arranged as tofrictionally engage the pins and'thus assist inholding the tapes inposition when they are superimposed thereon. v

It will further be appreciated that it is ordinarily desirable tocommence the scor- I ing of the game'as near the upper edge of the boardor field as maybe convenient and to continue the record of the playstoward the bottom edge of the board as the game progresses substantiallyas shown in the drawing. It is thus unnecessary to make 7 the fieldai)'cdon the board of the same width in proportion to-its length as aregular football field which is ordinarily I 100 yards long; in fact, itis frequently deutilized for scoring a subsequent game butif paper tapeshave been employed these will ordinarily be thrown away. and only themarkers preserved for subsequent use.

It will thus be apparent that by the use of my invention a visiblerecordof the progress of the game and of numerous facts incidentalthereto such as the types of plays,

names of players and the like may be read- 1ly made as the gameprogresses and preserved for as long as desired so that at any periodof. the game the observer Wlll have beforehim a full and complete recordofthe as far as it has then progressed.

Moreover, it is to be understood that while I havereferred moreparticularly to the use of metallic pins as supporting means for thetapes as the same are convenient and well adapted for this purpose,other equivalent means may be employedtherefor if desired,

and "other changes and modifications made in the details of constructionand arrange.

ment of the various'parts without departing (from the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined in the appended claims. I

Having thus described my invention, I

claim and desire to protect by Letters Pat- 'cnt of the United States;

1. In a device for forming a visible rec- ,ord of the progress of afootball game or the like, the combination of a board having displayedthereon areprese'ntation of the playing field, a plurality of pinsdisposed at regularly spacedintervals over the face.

of the board and projectingthereabove and forming a part thereof and atapefada pted to be selectively positioned and supported on said pinsto'extend from different points on said board, to other pointsthereonto' thereby denote the course of the ball durmg the game.

.2. In a device of forming a visible record 7 of the progress of afootball game or the like, the combination of a board having thereon arepresentation of the playing field, a plurality of pins permanentlydisposed on said board in transversely extending symmetrically spacedrows, projecting above the face thereof and permanently securedtheretoand a fiat tape adapted to be stretched from one of said pins toanother and supported thereupon to thereby give a gra hic representationof the movements of the all during the game.

3. In a device for forming a visible record of the progress of afootball game or the like, the combination of a board having thereon arepresentation of the playing field, a plurality of pins disposed onsaid board in transversely extending spaced rows and permanently securedthereto, a tape adapt ed to be stretched from one of said pins toanother and supported thereupon to thereby give a graphic representationof the movements of the ball during the game and markers adapted to bepositioned on the pins in superimposed relation tothe tape to afford agraphic representation of incidents of the game in accordance with apredetermined system.

4. In a device for forming a visible record of the progress of afootball game or the like, the combination of a board having thereon arepresentation of a playing field, a plurality of pins arranged atspaced intervals in parallel rows running transversely of the field,said rows being equidis tantly spaced from each other and the points ofthe pins projecting above the face of the board and a tape differentlycolored on opposite sides to denote the opposing teams and adapted to bestretched between and supported on said pins selectively to afford agraphic representation of the movements of the ball during the game andto indicate the team by which each such movement is effected inaccordance with the face of the tape which is turned outwardly as it isdisplayed on the board.

5. In a device for forming a visible record of the progress of afootball game or the like, the combination of a board having thereon arepresentation of a playing field, a plurality of pins arranged atspaced intervals in parallel rows running transversely of the field,said rows being equidistantly spaced from each other and the points ofthe pins projecting above the face of the board, a tape differentlycolored on opposite sides to denote the opposing teams and adapted to bestretched between and supported on said pins selectively to afford agraphic representation of the movements of the ball during the game andto indicate the team by which each such movement is effected inaccordance with the face of the tape which is turned outwardly as it isdisplayed on the board, and markers adapted to be positioned on saidpins in superimposed relation to thetape to indicate incidents of theplay in conformity with a predetermined system of notation.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of October,1927.

OSEPH M. HARTLEY.

